


Dragonkin

by wimblydonner



Category: Final Fantasy Tactics
Genre: F/M, Knights - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-19
Updated: 2014-05-19
Packaged: 2018-01-25 17:14:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1656209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wimblydonner/pseuds/wimblydonner
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Beowulf sees Reis's new abilities, he fears he hasn't yet restored her to her old form.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dragonkin

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lassarina](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lassarina/gifts).



> Written for DOINK!: Final Fantasy Exchange 2014. Prompt: _"So. Beowulf and Reis and Aliste. I'd love to see something about how Beowulf and Reis fell in love, or how Aliste stayed behind to sabotage things when Reis and Beowulf had to flee because of the dragon thing, or their friendship before any of that happened, or basically anything with these three characters."_

For months, Beowulf's sole objective had been to see Reis restored to his arms—first, to track down the poor, lonely Holy Dragon, adrift in the world without even her reason or memory, and then to restore the thinking, talking woman he sees hidden beneath the beast's sad eyes.

But even after the Zodiac Stone has lifted the curse that changed her form, even after he's left Nelveska Temple with his beloved in his arms, he's not sure that he's succeeded in his mission. Reis is not entirely like the Reis he remembers, all colorful skirts and easily smiles. 

He's not entirely comfortable, to begin with, with having her out on the battlefield. Although he has been stripped of his rank, he still regards himself as a Gryphon Knight; he knows Celebrant Bremondt banished him out of his own jealousy rather than Beowulf's actions. And being a knight means his duty is to bear the horrors of battle so that the better members of society might be shielded from that. That Reis is now as much a member of their fighting squad as he and Lady Agrias seems to suggest that he's not only failed in his responsibilities but done so in a way that has put his beloved in the line of fire. It was difficult enough to see her take Bremondt's curse for him; to see her now lacing up her boots for battle suggests nothing has changed, nothing has been learned. 

And Reis has displayed some aptitudes that are ... unusual. There's the red dragon that she tames in the salty remnants of Lake Poescas; before she's even raised a fist, the beast languidly bows its head in obedience to her and later looks to her for comfort and encouragement in battle. That is not so unusual, he tries to tell himself. Surely if Reis once took the form of a dragon, she has some lingering memory of what drives them and how to play them. 

But he later he catches her punching a Mindflayer in two with a single strike. And then when Mustadio is pinned down at the steeple of Mullonde Cathedral, Reis opens her mouth and bellows forth a stream of flames that incinerates his aggressors—a happening that even the most generous and creative mind cannot explain away. 

Reis must know that the situation would alarm him because she avoids him afterwards. But she cannot be too concerned herself about her new abilities; in their next battle, she rushes forth and breathes a blast of cold air into the Order of the Northern Sky's finest before she is even threatened. 

As when she bore Bremondt's curse, it falls on Reis to make the sacrifice that keeps them moving. She takes the initiative to approach him when he is dining—alone, stubbornly—at the inn. 

"You have not asked about how I have been altered," she reminds him, "but I have not asked you about Ser Aliste." 

That question, he thinks, has a far easier answer. "Aliste remains in Lionel," he says of their former friend. "The Celebrant's wrath did not extend to him; he retains his rank. And it would be a poor commander who asks his subordinates to forego their livelihood on his personal behalf. But he is cheering for us both, and I am sure that he would be thrilled to hear that we draw closer every day to the conclusion of this quest." 

Feeling that he has addressed her concern, he moves unbidden onto his own. "I am afraid, my love," he continues, "that I have not fully succeeded in restoring your old self. But hope is not lost. We've been reunited; you have your human appendages again. If we have come this far, the better part of the mission must be done. We can keep searching, we can--" 

She holds up a hand to stop him. "I suppose some piece of Bremondt's curse remains," she admits, "but it is not such a terrible one, is it? In times like these, I might even consider it _useful_." 

That might be true, but when they were engaged, he promised to care for her always, in good times and in bad, and surely without any regard to whether any part of her might or might not be "useful." 

She continues, "If, having been born with a such a talent, I then lost it, would you be seeking to restore my gift?" 

He's never considered the possibility and doesn't know how to answer the question. He stops to try to imagine the scenario, but it's not easy to picture Reis as a monstrous being suddenly bereft of her powers. "I'd fight for whatever you wanted," he says in lieu of a real answer. 

"Good. Then let me keep my freedom, let me no longer depend on anyone else for protection." Reis mimes punching the air to demonstrate what these changes have given her. "Imagine Aliste's reaction when we finally get back to Lionel and I can cook a turkey by breathing on it." 

As a knight, that would make him a failure. But as Reis's fiancé, as the man who has pledged to love and cherish her wherever she may go, he sees how _eager_ she is to fight, how these new abilities have given her a whole new sphere of life to make her own. 

When he at last concedes defeat, it's in the form of a new concern. "We should at least visit the Outfitter and find you some armor," he insists. "Even the mages are better armored than you..." 

"Don't need it," Reis insists. She feels the power of the dragon coursing through her blood, her muscles. She doesn't know _how_ she breathes fire any more than she really understands how she walks or how her heart beats; all she understands is that it's become a part of her that she can draw upon when she needs it. 

He can't deny that she's performed quite admirably with no equipment at all, though when he thinks of the years of rigorous training it took to perfect his swordsmanship, he might be a little jealous. "It is a style most unorthodox..." 

She smiles, and finally there's something of their old relationship, of the knight and the woman who fell in love in the fields of Lionel. "Says the one whose sword can turn a man into a chicken."

**Author's Note:**

> Reis retains a number of dragon-like powers when she reverts back to being a human, and I thought it might be interesting to examine how the characters would react to that since it's never really discussed in the game.


End file.
